


Neighbourly Assistance

by connorssock



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Dumb Ways To Deviate, Get Together, M/M, outsider's POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 06:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21369715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/connorssock/pseuds/connorssock
Summary: Sometimes love just needs a helping hand in the form of an elderly neighbour or two. Gavin and Nines didn't have a clue until they did. Living in an apartment block wasn't always doom, gloom and annoyance.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 19
Kudos: 212





	Neighbourly Assistance

Living in an apartment had its pros and cons. Sometimes, it could be noisy. Other times an unwitting cooking experiment could go wrong, setting off the fire alarms at 3am. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were rather lucky, they had a neighbour who was quiet, even if he kept odd hours at times. But that was the life of a police detective. Sometimes murders happened in the middle of the night and Gavin was good enough to go help solve the mysteries surrounding them. At least he didn’t let his front door slam shut on his way out.

They didn’t know much about Gavin, other than he worked long hours and sometimes asked them to nip over to water his plants and feed his cat. Whenever that happened, there was always a small box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers on their doorstep the next day. So, on the whole, Gavin was a lovely young man.He even helped with their shopping if the elevators were broken or if they needed anything when he was going out.

The only thing Gavin never did was bring someone home. He was lonely, no doubt. Nobody truly happy with life worked such long hours. So when there was a tall, imposing young man loitering in the corridor, Mrs. Thompson of course went to investigate.

“Are you lost dear?” She asked and laid a hand on his elbow.

“No, I am waiting for Detective Reed. He has forbidden me from entering his living area.”

Tutting, Mrs. Thompson shook her head at the nonsense. “Pay him no attention. If you’re here, you might as well go in. His cat loves scratches just above the tail. If she likes you, he’ll be putty in your hands.”

Protests of the tall man being an android were waved off. “You’ve got your rights, use them. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Do what feels right.”

She didn’t bother to listen to any more protests, instead returned and watched through the peephole as the android knocked on the door and was let in.

It was a face that both she and Mr. Thompson became familiar with. They got a name from the android, Nines and learned that he was Gavin’s work partner. Despite appearances, he was as lost and bewildered by humans as most people were. His social protocols were stilted, almost as if he had to learn them but wasn’t equipped to understand them.

“Really, Gavin dear.” Mrs, Thompson’s eyes sparkled as she puttered around the hallway after getting the post. “Nines dotes on you. Nobody has been by to see you this often, See it for what it is. Don’t be obtuse.”

“He’s a machine, following his programming. There is nothing more than that going on here.” Gavin hobbled past them on his crutches.

“Machine or not. He’s not a nannybot, is he? I believe he mentioned being a military android. Those are programmed to kill, not care,” Mr. Thompson chipped in and nodded to the stairwell from which Nines was emerging, bag carefully clutched in his hands.

“Gavin! You shouldn’t be up yet!” He was already chastising Gavin, LED red. “The doctors said you need to rest your knee for at least a week, it’s only been two days.”

Mr. and Mrs. Thompson shared a look as the returned to their apartment. Nines may well still be a machine but he was trying and to them, that was more than enough. Deviancy could always come later.

As time went on, Nines became someone they ran into with increasing frequency. He was always immaculately dressed though in the winter months, he took to wearing a scarf. One that Mr. Thompson was fairly certain he’d seen Gavin sporting before.

A knock on the door revealed a rather flustered Gavin a few weeks later.

“I don’t suppose you have any thirium based recipes?” He looked rather embarrassed to be asking but spent the next hour or so with Mrs. Thompson in the kitchen, learning to bake thirium cup cakes. Throughout it all, he was adamant that he was just trying to show Nines different sides of life. His partner (work partner, nothing more!) was still as much a machine as when he stepped off the assembly line.

This just wasn’t going to do. Both Mr. and Mrs. Thompson agreed that it had gone on long enough. Even if they were old, they weren’t blind or deaf enough to not see how Gavin and Nines cared about each other in their own ways. So they lay in wait, watched as Nines approached Gavin’s front door, even drew a key from his pocket. Just as he was about to put it in the lock, they opened the door.

“Good evening lad,” Mr. Thompson nodded.

“Nines,” Mrs. Thompson waved cheerily, holding onto her husband’s elbow. “We’ve got date night. Would you be a doll and make sure our place stays safe? Gavin’s been working so hard recently, he needs a bit of freedom so we don’t want to ask him.”

“Of course.” Nines nodded seriously. “I will ensure your home remains untouched.”

Patting him on the arm, Mrs. Thompson smiled at him. “You’re of the good sort. Gavin’s lucky to have you. Make sure you greet him with a kiss tonight. There has been quite enough dancing around between the two of you.”

“And that’s an order boy,” Mr. Thompson added. They teetered off on their date night, tittering and giggling. When they got back, there was a small basket on their doorstep. The usual chocolates, a potted plant and, to their utter entertainment, a pair of earplugs. Taking the hint, they took out their hearing aids for the night.

The next morning, they watched Nines leave Gavin’s flat, peering through a crack in the door when they had a scuffle over who looks through the peephole. Rather than his usual, put together self, Nines was dishevelled, hair out or place and his usual uniform was replaced by a hoodie that was slightly too tight on him. Hot on his heels, Gavin looked as ruffled as always but he had an easy smile about him and, as the two stepped into the elevator, their hands linked. Shutting the door, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson turned to each other and high-fived.

**Author's Note:**

> This is posted on @dumbwaystodeviate over on tumblr. You can find me on there, as always, @connorssock


End file.
